Friday, February 1, 2013

Beware the Fake Naked 2 Palette!

Heed this my cautionary tale, for I hath been bamboozled*!

That's about as much silliness as I can muster. Back to real English.

How many of you are regular deal hunters? I sure am. I frequent Sharing Spree for those deals pretty often. About a month ago there was a doozy of a spree for the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette for... Wait. For. It. ... $25! Yes - twenty-five dollars. I was so stoked, because I had already told myself I wouldn't be purchasing any more palettes after the Lorac Pro and Unzipped robbed me of quite a bit of mula recently. But how could I pass up a $50 palette for half off?

You might be a more realistic, logical person thinking, Tara, that's too good to be true. It's probably fake! Well, where in the heck were you?! In my defense, I had no clue that fake UD palettes were a thing, or I would have been paying attention to it. (Or rather no clue that counterfeit makeup was a thing!)

What first clued me in was the shades were terrible! I mean it. I'm no expert, but I have used quite a bit of shadows, and I felt like I was using chalky children's fake makeup... I was thinking, What is the deal with this palette? All these beauty bloggers are insane..." Then I started to notice small details.

Like, the mirror seemed warped, and I could hardly see myself as I used it. The pans containing the shadows are bent. When I looked at pictures online of the brush, the real one's bristles were a different pigment, and the font went the opposite direction of the one I have. Lastly I wondered why the writing/font was already wearing off (see the "U" on the brush?).

On the back of the real one there is a sticker with a batch number. This did not have one.

I also noticed that the palette comes with a lip gloss through Sephora. This one didn't.

BUM - freaking - MER!!

After sulking and thinking all kinds of negative "what is this world coming to" thoughts I started to google it. I stumbled across The Beauty Belle's story of experiencing a similar problem. She has great photos of comparisons between the two (packaging and swatches). An even better post regarding this is by Vicky Hoang. She even found more issues than I ever saw. I was really quick to toss my packaging, but there are many discrepancies in that, too!

I reached out to Sharing Spree and the company that sold it - Bella Sweet Boutique. Sharing Spree jumped right on it, refunded my money and is providing a shipping label to send it back. Kudos!

I'm thankful they responded VERY quickly. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Bella Sweet. I see that there is an active deal for the same product on their Seattle page today with over 200 sold. So sad; I hope they both rectify it soon!

Ultimately, I know I got what I paid for. I think what bothers me the most is that we have no idea what ingredients are in the duped palettes. Since ingredients are important to me - and I try to avoid toxins as much as I can - it scares me to think what unregulated crap is probably in these fake 'uns! This article even quotes Interpol as saying counterfeit makeup helps fund terrorism and drug trafficking! Aaaah! It also relays that many tested counterfeits contain arsenic and mercury! So, if you are thinking, "I got it for cheap - might as well use it" please don't.

Now I'm doubting all my Amazon and Ebay purchases for Mac, Elizabeth Arden, etc products. Is it worth a bargain to risk putting arsenic and mercury in your bloodstream?

So, tell me: have you ever been similarly duped? Any of you lovelies own the real Naked 2 and can concur?

*Indicates the author is 99.2% certain it's fake. Obviously there is a chance in hell that it's real and Urban Decay just has some inconsistencies. I'm just saying for all y'all who want to be annoying literal. K?Tweet Me • Instagram Me• BlogLovin

It's shocking that people do this isn't it?! The mirror fell off mine as soon as I opened it!! For the amount of money you are still paying for it you'd think they'd make it more realistic! The Naked 2 (real one) is far superior, I'd deffo recommend it :) Xxx

Yeah, it's worth getting it from a reputable site and paying a bit more for peace of mind :) Mine was actually a giveaway prize win so thankfully i didnt lose anything, i let the blogger whose giveaway it was know and she contacted the seller, cos she wasnt aware either, but i don't think she ever got a reply :( so she left bad feedback but thats really all you can do!

I've bought some fake MAC products from Ebay before, it really sucks. I always feel so betrayed. One of the people I contacted and she did refund my money, but she didn't even apologize for selling it when she knew it was fake. I saw that so many people were being swindled by her, and didn't even know it.

If I'm going to buy either Naked, it'll be the 2. I love that it's cooler neutrals! I'm just not sure if I'm ready for another $50 palette after loving on my two LORAC ones, ya know? Maybe one day!! :)

The same exact thing happend to me! I was suspicious of the packaging and then when I saw the mirror...even more so and the colors looked off.

Unfortunately, I saw the deal on Sharing Spree but I missed the deal so I contacted Bella Sweet Boutique directly and they still gave me the deal. I thought I was lucky. I placed the order over the phone on 01/06/13. My credit card was charged on 01/19/13. I contacted them 02/08/13, 1 day short of 3 weeks since my credit card was charged. From there I received my palette 02/19/13.

I am a little concerned that it is going to be a major hassel to get a refund and it might not be worth the hassel. What a bummer. Now, if I buy the real Naked Palette 2 from a reliable shop such as Sephora or Ulta, I'll be looking at it like I spent $75 instead of just $50. Buyer beware and if it looks too good to be true... it probably is!

Oh, man... That stinks! I would say DON'T GIVE UP! They have to refund it, since they had false advertisement. You could report them to the BBB if they don't (or threaten to, at first). Hope it works out for you!

I emailed them directly and asked them to send me a return shipping label and refund my money or I could contact my cc company and request a charge back, they responded right away and said they would give me a refund but forwarded my request to Sharing Spree. If I purchased through Sharing Spree I would have contacted Sharing Spree and not Bella Sweet Boutique, oh well. I replied to their email and told them I purchased through them and not Sharing Spree and now I'm just waiting on a response. That was Friday afternoon so I am hoping I will get a response on Monday.

If they don't give me a refund or give me the run around and I have to request a charge back from my cc company then I will definitely complain to the BBB! Hopefully, I won't have to though!

I purchased a Naked 2 Palette from eBay and I had a suspicion it was fake because it came in the cardboard box with no lipgloss and one end of the brush came freely from the handle. The eyeshadows are also half full :/ It's scary thinking that any type of chemicals are in the counterfeit eyeshadows :(. Guess that's what happens if you try to get a bargain, it's just better to get the real deal so that's what I'm going to do.

I'm so sorry!! It totally sucks. :( I actually purchased the real deal from Sephora recently and wasn't overly impressed with the shadows - pigment, ease of application, color payoff, etc - so I returned it for the LORAC Pro to Go palette.

It's all my mother's fault. She required that I pluck my eyebrows and get professional instruction @ an Estee Lauder counter before being allowed to wear makeup. And she started me on the Reader's Digest leather bound classics before middle school.
Healthy products are important to me. And so is quality literature - with lots of history.
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Ask me to review any book or beauty product, and I'll do my best!